Houck got the ball in the top of the first and DJ LeMahieu lined out to right to start. Luke Voit was plunked but Aaron Hicks banged into a double play to end the inning. Garcia got the ball in the bottom of the first and Christian Vazquez grounded out to second to start. Rafael Devers doubled to left but JD Martinez lined out to left. Bobby Dalbec whiffed to end the inning.
Houck struck out Giancarlo Stanton swinging to begin the top of the second before Gleyber Torres lined out to left. Brett Gardner flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Jackie Bradley Jr doubled to left to start before moving to third on a passed ball. Michael Chavis then smashed a home run into Landsdowne Street to put the Sox on top. Cesar Puello hit a seeing eye single to left but Tzu-Wei Lin flied out to center. Jonathan Arauz whiffed and Vazquez lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Clint Frazier hit a routine grounder to Devers to start the top of the third but he threw the ball all the way to Montana for an error. Gary Sanchez banged into a double play but Tyler Wade walked. LeMahieu grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Devers atoned for his error with a base hit to third. Martinez flied out to left but Dalbec singled to left. JBJ brought home Devers with a base hit to center. Chavis then belted a line drive 3 run bomb into the Monster Seats to ice the game. Puello walked but Lin flied out to right. Arauz popped up to short to end the inning but it was 6-0 Sox.
Houck cruised in the top of the fourth as Voit struck out swinging to start. Hicks flied out to center and Stanton grounded out to short to end the inning. Luis Cessa came in for the bottom of the fourth and Vazquez walked to start. Devers lined out to center and Vazquez was thrown out trying to steal on the swinging strikeout by Martinez to end the inning.
Torres walked to start the top of the fifth but Gardner flied out to left. Frazier went down hacking and Sanchez whiffed to end the inning. Houck had no-hit the Yankees for 5 innings. Dalbec lined out to center to start the bottom of the fifth but JBJ singled to center. Chavis lined out to right but Puello walked. Lin grounded out to first to end the inning.
Wade broke up the no-no in the top of the sixth and took third on a passed ball. LeMahieu walked to put Houck in trouble for the first time all game. Houck got Voit to bang into a double play to score Wade and Hicks to ground out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1. Houck showed good poise to finish strong with 6 solid innings of 1 run ball.
Jonathan Holder came on for the bottom of the sixth and Arauz grounded out to second to start. Vazquez doubled to right but Devers lined out to left. Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
Phillips Valdez was first out of the pen in the top of the seventh and Stanton whiffed to start. Torres grounded out to third but Gardner walked. Frazier whiffed to end the inning. The Sox removed all hope of a Yankees comeback in the bottom of the seventh as Dalbec clobbered his 7th home run of the year to increase the lead. JBJ singled to left and Chavis walked before both runners moved over on the Puello grounder, Lin scored JBJ with a sac fly as Gardner threw the ball away on an error. Arauz singled home Chavis before Vazquez hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-1.
Ryan Brasier cruised in the top of the eighth as Sanchez grounded out to short to start. Wade grounded out to first as some weirdo climbed into the Monster Seats to shout invectives at Michael Chavis. Alert Fenway Park security shoved the guy off the Monster and BPD arrested the guy. When play resumed LeMahieu whiffed to end the inning. The Sox finished off the scoring in the bottom of the eighth against Erik Kratz as Devers lined out to center to start. Martinez blasted his 6th homer of the year to wrap up the scoring. Dalbec was plunked and he laughed at Kratz before he moved to second on the JBJ grounder. Chavis grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-1.
Jeffrey Springs had mop up duty in the top of the ninth as Voit hit a home run into Russia to start. Hicks struck out swinging and Stanton took strike three but Torres walked. Gardner singled to center but Frazier whiffed to end the inning. The Sox had beaten the Yankees for the first time all year 10-1.
Sox win!
Hero 1: Chavis
Hero 2: Houck
We have Co-Heroes of the Night in this game. First up is Michael Chavis. He singlehandedly beat the Yankees on the offensive side with 2 home runs and 5 total rbis.
Hero number 2 is Tanner Houck. The rookie stymied the high powered Yankees for 6 innings of 1 unearned run ball. He allowed just 1 hit and 3 walks while striking out 4.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, a hit by pitch and a home run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 4 for 5 with an rbi and 3 runs scored.
Cesar Puello was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Phillips Valdez tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Ryan Brasier tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jeffrey Springs allowed a run in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but walked.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a home run.
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Jonathan Arauz was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
As sad as it sounds, this was the most encouraging win of the season. Houck took a Yankees team headed to the playoffs and diced them up. Michael Chavis and Bobby Dalbec are considered part of the future and they both hit home runs. Jackie Bradley Jr may be traded but if not, he showed you why the Sox put up with his streaky hitting because he can get hot. Phillips Valdez has been one of the few bright spots out of the bullpen this season and should definitely be invited to Spring Training next year. The Sox may have torpedoed their chances for the top 2 draft picks but who cares? Bottom line is if your starting 5 next year are Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Houck, Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez....I can live with it. Sale won't be ready at the start of the season but that's why they went and got Nick Pivetta. Pivetta may suck hard facing American League batters but at least its an improvement over all the bums they trotted out this year. The Sox also pounded a nail into the coffin of the Yankees division title hopes with their win. There's no chance in hell the Minnesota Twins can beat the Yankees in the first round but they certainly are due. As for this game, one of the best wins of the season going back to Opening Day. If Houck is the real deal, and this game helped proved he might be, the re-build just got a lot easier. The win improved the Sox to 20-34, last place in the AL East. Tomorrow is an off-day so the Sox will be back in action for their final three home games of the season Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles. None other than Nick Pivetta will be activated to make the start for the Sox. As it stands right now, the Sox rotation for the final six games will be Pivetta, Eovaldi, Perez, Houck, Mazza and Pivetta again. At least the Sox have starters now and the Orioles game begins Tuesday night at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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